Ceramic and glass business news of the week for August 16, 2021

PLANTS, CENTERS, AND FACILITIES

Xaar opens customer service center in China

Xaar, an inkjet printing technology group, reinforced its commitment to the Chinese market with the opening of a new customer service center in Shenzhen, China. The latest office will form part of Xaar’s global network and provide support to its growing Chinese original equipment manufacturers and partner customer base.

GE Aviation Auburn facility helps with advanced manufacturing for fuel-efficient jet engines

General Electric Aviation’s Auburn facility recently reached 100,000 shipments of additively manufactured fuel nozzle tips. The company’s Auburn site began producing fuel nozzle tips in 2015 and was the industry’s first mass manufacturing site for producing aircraft engine parts using additive manufacturing.

Borosil Renewables adding two more solar glass lines

India’s only solar glass producer Borosil Renewables is considering adding two more lines to its plant in Bharuch in the state of Gujarat. Lines four and five will each consist of 500 tonnes per day and are scheduled for construction in 2023 and 2024.

Heinz-Glas back at pre-COVID levels of glassmaking

After the first six months of 2021, German glassmaker Heinz-Glas is now producing at pre-COVID levels with the international market recovering faster than expected. The company used the COVID-19 period to adjust its product portfolio and realign in a global market.

Innovative research center to advance emerging technologies for repurposing coal ash

The Electric Power Research Institute, in collaboration with Georgia Power and Southern Company, announced the opening of the Ash Beneficial Use Center at Georgia Power’s Plant Bowen. The center will allow for testing and validation of emerging, pilot-scale technologies for repurposing coal combustion products, which include coal ash.

ACQUISITIONS AND COLLABORATIONS

Vital acquires Kipawa and Zeus projects from Quebec Precious Metals Corporation

Vital Metals Limited and Quebec Precious Metals Corporation signed a binding term sheet for the acquisition by VML of QPM’s 68% interest in the Kipawa exploration project and 100% interest in the Zeus exploration project. Joint Venture partner Investissement Québec holds the remaining 32% of the Kipawa project.

Tekni-Plex acquires vented lining material leader

Tekni-Plex, a global leader in the development and manufacture of innovative packaging material solutions and medical products, acquired Michigan-based M-Industries, LLC, a leader in container vented lining technology.

Desktop Metal is acquiring ExOne to dominate additive manufacturing for mass production

Desktop Metal, Inc., a leader in additive manufacturing mass production solutions, and The ExOne Company, a global leader in industrial sand and metal 3D printers using binder jetting technology, entered into a definitive agreement pursuant to which Desktop Metal will acquire all of the issued and outstanding shares of ExOne common stock.

Sandvik joins GE Additive binder jet beta partner program

Sandvik Additive Manufacturing became a strategic partner in GE Additive’s binder jet beta partner program. Sandvik has one of the widest alloy programs for additive manufacturing on the market, marketed under the Osprey brand.

Turkmenistan starts exporting electricity to Kyrgyzstan

Turkmenistan began exporting electricity to Kyrgyzstan this month under the deal signed by the ministers of the two countries. Under the document, Turkmenistan will export 502 million kilowatt-hours of electricity to Kyrgyzstan from August to December 2021.

OTHER STORIES

Call for applications: Otto Schott Research Award

In 2022, the Ernst-Abbe-Fonds will be presenting the 17^th Otto Schott Research Award, which honors excellent researchers for their scientific and technological achievements in basic and applied research in the fields of glass, glass-ceramic, and related advanced materials. Applications should be submitted only via this website until Oct. 3, 2021.

Allied Mineral Products celebrates 60 years in the industry

Allied Mineral Products is celebrating its 60^th anniversary. From humble beginnings to a world leader in refractories, Allied’s focus is “being there worldwide” for customers with their people and products.

New sales manager at Orion Engineered Carbons

Paul M. Nowak has joined Orion Engineered Carbons S.A. as sales manager. He is responsible for leading OEC Specialty Carbon Black sales in the northeast, developing and implementing new regional sales strategies and leading selected global key accounts.

Visy to receive AUS $2.5 million glass recycling grant

Visy Glass will receive a grant of more than AUS$2.5 million (US$1.86 million) from the New South Wales and federal government of Australia to increase overall recycling capacity in the state. Visy expects the project to increase recovery of kerbside recycled glass from 53% to 60%.

Study on NSF materials research kicking off

A National Academies committee tasked with assessing the National Science Foundation’s contributions to the cross-agency Materials Genome Initiative kicked off last week. NSF asked the committee to provide recommendations on how its Designing Materials to Revolutionize and Engineer our Future program can better accelerate materials research.

US House bill would give tax credit for rare earth magnets

A Democrat in the U.S. House of Representatives introduced legislation extending tax credits to companies that domestically produce rare earth magnets. The bill is the latest in a string of U.S. legislation attempting to cobble together a national strategy to produce more strategic minerals used to make electric vehicles, weaponry, and electronics.

NIST model cuts measurement needs for spectrum sharing by about 33%

Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology developed a modeling technique that can save time and money in estimating how to configure wireless communications systems to share the same transmission frequencies. The NIST model reduces number of measurements needed to estimate reliable configurations by ~33%.

NEW PRODUCTS

‘CAM’ customized 3D printing for medical device prototypes

Kyocera unveiled its ceramic additive manufacturing customized 3D printing service for cost-effective prototypes of new medical device designs at the MD&M West Medical Expo in Anaheim, Calif. The new service uses both zirconia and alumina materials in a wide variety of shapes, and a size range of 200x105x40 mm and wall thickness of 0.25–10 mm.

Volo Frameless glass moveable wall extension

Holland-based Trendway, a portfolio company of Illinois-based Fellowes Brands, introduced Volo Frameless, which Trendway describes as a competitively priced, full glass storefront extension to its Volo Movable Wall product line.